Group braces for One Cold Night

City councillor Leigh Bursey prepares for One Cold Night, an awareness campaign for the issue of local homelessness. The event takes place this Saturday night at the south end of the Brockville Railway Tunnel. (SABRINA BEDFORD/The Recorder and Times)Sabrina Bedford

The snowy, frigid weather will be less than ideal for this weekend’s outdoor sleepover – but that’s precisely the point.

A group of local activists are taking part in a local rendition of One Cold Night, a public demonstration to shine light on the issue of homelessness.

City Coun. Leigh Bursey and a group of concerned citizens are taking part in the “social experiment” this weekend in front of the Brockville Railway Tunnel Saturday, where they will spend the entire night outdoors.

A consummate vocal supporter, Bursey said the sleepover is a way for him to put his time and money where his mouth is.

“We talk about dealing with these issues, often without truly understanding what a person has to face before disregarding them as a statistic,” he said.

“We know that homelessness exists locally, even if it is largely hidden. It continues to become a growing problem, and here is an opportunity to keep the conversation going, to open dialogue, to raise money for a variety of causes that support rough sleepers, precariously housed people, and chronic homeless populations across our region and specifically right here in our community.”

Bursey has been a longtime champion of social justice, particularly on the topic of affordable housing. He has experience with homelessness himself, giving the city councillor the perfect perspective on the growing local issue.

“My experiences with homelessness were brief in comparison to many others,” he said.

“I am inundated regularly with people reaching out to me about this issue. I am a bit of a lightning rod for this issue and it was a natural marriage that a councillor with previous lived experience needs to generate these types of opportunities for others not as familiar with these challenges to experience them first-hand.”

The Brockville community is “hemorrhaging from multiple holes,” he said, and those in positions of power are offering band-aids without addressing the root causes of a growing issue.

He is beginning to notice a shift in the public attitude toward these issues, though, and he said the more it is part of the public dialogue, the more comprehensive solutions can be applied.

When he first started in public office in 2010, he remembers bringing these issues to the table and being largely dismissed because they were hard to quantify. Now, he said, the public pressure to take a stand is mounting.

“Now is the time to take the issues of poverty and addiction and address them more openly,” said Bursey.

One Cold Night began in Lanark County as a fundraiser for Cornerstone Landing, a not-for-profit organization for youth at risk of experiencing homelessness. This year its event has expanded to five host communities, including Brockville.

Bursey hopes to start a public dialogue about the issue of homelessness and precarious housing situations, and at the same time the group will also raise money for a group of local charities including the Leeds and Grenville Interval House, Cornerstone Landing, Pathways to Prosperity, and the Brockville Public Library.

Registration begins at 7 p.m. The event begins formally at 8 p.m. and runs until the next morning at 8 a.m. Rain, shine, or in this case, even snow.

Anyone can participate, he said, but those under 18 years of age are encouraged to provide a note of permission. He hopes to get a good crowd, and he is encouraging other public officials to get involved.

“Big or small, this will be educational for all of us and it sends a message that others care,” said Bursey.